While eBooks have been exploding in popularity in recent years, scholars, chefs and those who just love to tool around in the kitchen say it’s not time to stick a fork in the physical cookbook just yet. “I’m a pretty messy cook, so having your computer on the counter is a recipe for disaster,” said Ian Mosby, who is preparing to teach a University of Guelph course that encompasses the history of the cookbook.

“If I’m going to pay money to own something, I would rather have the physicality of the book. I’m more likely to read a physical cookbook